UW-Green Bay student mentors to be featured in ‘Teen Connection’ program on obesity

On the next television broadcast of Wisconsin Public Television’s Teen Connection, a panel of young people and adult experts from Brown County will discuss the dangers of adolescent obesity and will present guidelines for maintaining healthy, active lifestyles. Teen Connection “Teens ,Obesity and Nutrition” will air statewide at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 14 on Wisconsin Public Television (WPT) and on MPTV in Milwaukee.

Obesity among children and adolescents has tripled since 1980, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Brown County Kids Count Initiative is looking to reverse this trend by making teens more aware of their lifestyle choice. The core of the initiative is Live54218, a simple guideline to help raise he healthiest kids in America. The approach advocates five servings of fruits and vegetables, four bottles of water, less than two hours of media, one hour of exercise and eight hours of sleep daily.

The Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, Green Bay Press Gazette, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, Boys and Girls Club of Green Bay and many local agencies and schools have also joined the effort to rise the healthiest kids in America.

During the program, students from assistant Prof. Leanne Zhu’s class at UW-Green Bay will discuss their work mentoring teens at the Boys and Girls Club about healthy lifestyle choices. Rashad Cobb, health and life skills coordinator; and Melissa Boncher, health and life skills assistant, both with the Boys and Girls Club of Green Bay, will talk about the club’s many activities to address obesity. Jen Van Den Elzen, chair of Live54218, and several teen members of Boys and Girls Club also will appear on the program.

Teen Connection is co-produced by NEWIST/CESA7, Educational TV Productions of Northeast Wisconsin (ETP-NEW) and Wisconsin Television. Host Kathryn Bracho appears courtesy of WBAY, Channel 2 in Green Bay.

The live program features a toll-free call-in option at 877-988-2888. The service will be provided courtesy of Nsight Teleservices. For more resources, check online. Viewers can also text message their questions to 920-288-2810.

For more information please contact Eileen Littig, Producer, NEWIST/CESA 7, at 920-432-6603, or visit the Live54218 website.